Fresh off their respective Republican and Democratic Conventions, 2012 election candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are in the final 60-day sprint ahead of Nov. 6 election day, and campaigning is heating up in battleground states as the two sides make their appeals to voters in the last two months of the campaign.
Both the Obama and Romney campaigns are now focusing their energy on the pivotal swing states, with a blitz of advertising and in-person speeches, before the much anticipated presidential debates begin on October 3. The Romney campaign has privately admitted that it will likely struggle in swing states Ohio, New Hampshire, and Virginia, but have more success in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Colorado.
Polls remain close, though the latest indications are that President Obama received a mild campaign boost from the Democratic Convention, while Romney has essentially stalled in the polls. Obama has pulled ahead of Romney 49% to 44%.
Here is a look at how the campaigns will be spending the early part of this week, with both Mitt Romney and President Obama's schedules, as well as Vice President Joe Biden and VP nominee Paul Ryan's calendar:
1) President Obama
On Sunday, the President will deliver remarks at a campaign event at Charles & Ruth Clemente Center in Melbourne, Florida. In the afternoon, the President will deliver remarks at a campaign event at West Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. In the evening, the President will depart West Palm Beach, Florida en route Washington.
On Wednesday, Obama will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada and Denver, Colorado for campaign events. The President will remain overnight in Denver, Colorado. On Thursday, the President will travel to Arvada, Colorado. The President will return to the White House in the evening. On Friday, the President and First Lady will welcome the 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams to the White House to honor their participation and success in this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in London.
2) Joe Biden
On Tuesday, Vice President Biden will commemorate the 11th anniversary of 9/11 by traveling along with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Biden is schedule to speak at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Also to commemorate 9/11, President Obama and the First Lady will gather on the South Lawn of the White House to observe a moment of silence. Later that morning, the President and First Lady will travel to the Pentagon Memorial. In the afternoon, the President will travel to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and visit with wounded warriors who are being treated at the hospital and their families.
On Wednesday, Vice President Biden will deliver remarks at a grassroots event in Dayton, Ohio, and on Thursday, Biden will deliver remarks at a grassroots event in Wisconsin.
3) Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney spends the early part of the week campaigning in Ohio, where he is schedule to deliver a series of speeches. On Monday, he will attend a Victory rally at PR Machine Works, Inc. in Mansfield, Ohio. The trip comes after a relatively light campaign schedule last week, as Romney was holed up in Vermont preparing for the presidential debates with President Obama in October.
4) Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan begins the week campaigning in Portland, Oregon, after spending part of last week campaigning in Iowa. Ryan will attend a fundraiser in Portland on Monday at the Governor Hotel, where attendees will pay $25,000 for a private dinner with the vice presidential candidate. Over the weekend, Ryan began preparing for his upcoming debate with Biden with debate coaches in Oregon, where he reviewed likely questions and topics (rather than participate in a mock debate).
